


A Double Key, Which Opens to the Heart

by lirin



Category: Crown Duel - Sherwood Smith
Genre: Chocolate Box Treat, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22464205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lirin/pseuds/lirin
Summary: With Merindar House waiting to be searched, Meliara and Vidanric might as well make another wager (or two).
Relationships: Meliara Astiar/Vidanric Renselaeus
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	A Double Key, Which Opens to the Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elegantstupidity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elegantstupidity/gifts).



Hand in hand, they make their way to Merindar House. There is still no one awake in the city except for them, but everyone they have passed looks healthy and human, and all in all Meliara doesn't think there's any cause for worry on that account.

There's enough cause for worry in the house that lies before them. What waits there for them to find? And how long will it take for them to search the entire thing? She gazes up at the large edifice and sighs. "Do you want to stick together, or split up so we can search faster?"

"It should be safe enough to split up," Shevraeth—Vidanric—replies. "Unless you'd rather not be separated?"

"I don't mind," Meliara says. "And it will take long enough if we do. It's a bit overwhelming, really."

"We have a lot of searching ahead of us," Vidanric agrees. And then the corners of his mouth turn up in a grin. "I'll wager you that if there is anything to be found, I'll find it before you do."

"And what," Meliara asks, starting to smile herself, "would be the stake?"

He smiles wider. "A kiss."

Meliara tries to look prim, though it is difficult to conceal the joy that has been bubbling up from her heart for hours now. "I think you have already had a few of those."

"Then one more would not go amiss," Vidanric says. "But if you insist, we can raise the stakes. Two kisses."

"Done," Meliara says. "And in return I have a wager of my own. I'll wager that Flauvic won't have left anything incriminating to be found at all."

"Done," Vidanric says promptly. "And the stake?"

"Aren't you supposed to ask that before agreeing?"

His gaze on her is soft. "I would give you anything you ask of me, my love," he says.

"In that case, perhaps I should make the stake more substantial," she says. "But for now, I think _three_ kisses should be enough."

"An entirely appropriate stake," he says. "Now for any wager, the bettors must prove that they are capable of paying. So perhaps I ought to prove that, should you win, I am capable of paying you the three kisses that I would then owe you."

"In return," Meliara says gravely, "I ought to prove that I am capable of paying you the two kisses that I might owe you if you chance upon any sort of evidence of Flauvic's misdeeds before I do."

(It is full on ten minutes, and certainly more than two or three kisses later, before they tear themselves away to start searching. But the Merindars are not a danger any more, and Merindar House awaits their convenience.)


End file.
